Liverpool and Arsenal Stopper Target Reveals High Ambitions

Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic says he's flattered by rumours connecting him with a move to the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal

Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic has revealed he is flattered to be mentioned in connection with a possible move for either Arsenal or Liverpool, with the Bosnia international admitting he has personal ambitions to play for a top club.

Begnovic has kept five clean sheets over his last eight matches, and can currently boast the highest saves to shots ratio in the Premier League, with 79%.

Liverpool are believed to be considering parting with Pepe Reina, while Arsenal are also reportedly looking for an established keeper to create competition for Wojciech Szczesny.

And with both clubs particularly looking likely to be active in the January transfer window, Begoniv admitted that he is flattered to be spoken about as a possible future purchase.

"It's very flattering," he told Sky Sports News. "It's positive feedback from other teams that people are looking at you and mentioning you with those teams.

"It's no secret that everyone has their own ambitions and they want to be playing at the highest level possible.

"But right now I'm just focused on taking Stoke forward and I think the club here has a lot of ambitions; the chairman, the manager and everyone else included.

Asmir Begovic is a reported target for Liverpool and Arsenal.

"So we just want to keep pushing this club forwards and see how far we can take it."

Reina has been particularly disappointing for Liverpool this season, with the Spaniard having kept just four clean sheets in the league so far.

At 30 years old, Brendan Rodgers insists that the best is yet to come from the man who has been third keeper for Spain, but should a better stopper become available for an affordable price the club will at least be tempted into making a move to shore up any holes in their backline.

Meanwhile, for Arsenal, Wenger revealed yesterday that players are already talking to the club about possible activity in January, and after Szczesny struggled with injury this season, a new stopper could be a good addition to the north London side to assist the Poland international.

Begoniv said that he is very proud of his current record of eight clean sheets so far this season, saying that a strong defence has always been at the centre of Stoke's success.

"It matters a lot to us, especially us at the back," he explained. "It's what we work for and that's our main goal of the game."